I'm still pretty green at building recipes from scratch so when I begin, I start with a particular style that I'm trying to emulate. If what I want takes me off style a little, I don't really worry about it.

__________________On Tap:Whatever I just brewed (got sick of updating it)

The only time I'm in style is when I brew a clone or follow someone else's styled recipe, otherwise I make odd brews that appeal to me.

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Remember one unassailable statistic, as explained by the late, great George Carlin: "Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!"

Depends on the brew. The hefe I did (Baron's recipe) was as simple and traditional as it is delicious. My favorite recipe, my red IPA, is too dark for the style but otherwise pretty much in style. My Tempation red ale, that I also love, is in style but within a very broad style (American Amber).

The times where brews have been disappointing to me, like my smoked porter, I've gotten a little off style (too many hops), or the mocha stout which was just a disaster. So, it depends on the brew, but I'm inclined to generally stick to the guidelines for the time being.

"I'm kind of toasted. But I looked at my watch and it's only 6:30 so I can't stop drinking yet." - Yooper's Bob"Brown eye finally recovered after the abuse it endured in Ptown last weekend, but it took almost a full week." - Paulie"no, he just doesn't speak 'stupid'. i, however, am fluent...." - motobrewer"... I'll go both ways." - Melana

In my mind, the style guidelines really serve two purposes for homebrewers:

1. They are the definitive reference to which different types of beers may be compared for the purposes of fair and objective judging. Without them, beers could only be compared on the basis of subjective and personal opinion.

2. They also provide a great starting point for recipe creation. If you follow the style guidelines, you will have reasonable idea ahead of time regarding how a beer will turn out. Thus, if you like your brown ales a little maltier and sweeter, you can also have a good idea of what to add to make it that way (say some munich and some crystal malts).

BTW, if you haven't already read it, Ray Daniel's book "Designing Great Beers" does an excellent job of matching up ingredient lists to many of the different beer styles. Great reference.

Reason I brew is to find a "Style" I like and change it to something I LOVE!! My pale ale is more of an IPA, my IPA is more of an IIPA, My wheats, well, they have wheat in em...... Find what ya like and go for it. Just remember, none of these styles EXISTED till someone tried a beer and thought "I want to do this differently" Competition is one thing, but for around the house, just use em as rule's of Thumb